FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The next day, James woke up still in Katina, a little relieved to have not moved anywhere as he was approached by a guard. "Hey, you the refugee Starfox picked up?" "Ahh huh." "Right this way please." Taken along many similar-looking corridors, with signs written in another language that was complete gibberish to him, he eventually reached what looked like a medical bay. Oh joy, he thought, ANOTHER medical room. The doctor, a bird rather like a rooster, asked politely: "Please lie on the bed Mr Campbell." Doing so, a large machine above the bed scanned his body, while the doctor jotting down various scribbles into his clipboard. He looked over his patient with a curious eye. "Have you been well lately?" "Yeah not too bad doctor." "You seem to have had some temporary space exposure, do you feel weak at all?" "I recovered more on Starfox's ship, so I'm okay now." "...Hmmmm." The raptor was now worried by that particular oddly disapproving sound doctors tended to make. As the machine finished its scanning, he brought out a small hammer for testing reflexes. "Just a few tests to see if you're functioning well, sit up for me." James sat up and let his legs dangle over, letting his knee be tapped, jerking slightly at such. The doctor then kept on with the questions. "Are you experiencing any pain or fatigue?" "Nope, just really confused is all." "Your initial sign-in to the base reports you have amnesia." "Ahh huh." "What is the last thing you remember recently?" "Being in a pod in space, just floating there, then Starfox picked me up I guess." "And yet you seem to have been exposed to space for several seconds." "Well...my pod was barely holding itself together, it was kinda damaged, I remember before blacking out there was this widening tear and panicking like hell." "I see..." A few more scribbles. "Your right arm appears to have been mended at some point, care to explain?" "Oh..." He thought back to how that had happened, an embarrassing memory for his more adult mind. "Yeah I was riding motorcycles when I was a teenager, skidded into a wall and my arm got crushed between wall and bike. God I was stupid back then." "We all regret our youth somehow, don't worry.. Hmm....how is your nano-regulation?" "My what?" "Your body, it shows traces of nanocells circulating with your blood." "Wh...what's nanocells?" "You don't know?" "N-no?" "...Hmm...if it's okay with you I would like to keep you in for observation." "Am I in trouble doc?" "Not exactly, I am more concerned about your amnesia as well as your ignorance of an entire complex of nanocellular construction within your own body. It might help me discover your origins and cure your amnesia too. Is that okay by you?" "Uh...I guess so." And so he remained in the medical bay, yet again, and getting all the more tired of it to. He was given a more thorough examination all over, including a colonoscopy, which he more minded for how cold the tube felt rather than the tube itself going inside him.

An hour later, the doctor had finished his examination of James. "Well, you're in peak condition overall Mr Campbell, but your nanos are rather interesting." "What about them exactly?" "Nothing managed to help trigger your memory unfortunately but these nanos seem beneficial to you. They do assist in increasing your healing rate by twice the speed." "Really?" "Indeed, though there is this matter of your neural pathways here." "My what?" "Your brain, I mean. It has a connection to the nanos, and...may I say this is VERY unusual, I've never seen anything like this, apparently it-" A sudden alarm cut him off rather abruptly. "RED ALERT! RED ALERT! THE PERIMETER HAS BEEN BREACHED, ALL PILOTS MUST HEAD TO THEIR SHIPS IMMEDIATELY! CIVILIANS MUST EVACUATE TO THE SAFETY ZONES, REPEAT, CIVILIANS TO SAFETY ZONES!" The sudden blaring alert made the raptor panic, the rooster also fretting but trying to remain calm. "Wha-wha-what's happening?!?!?" "It's Andross. Quick Mr Campbell, head into the safety bunker underground and assist any civilians who need help. I must attend to my patients." "What's wrong, they can't walk!?!" "Some of them, as well as more severe cases." "Can I help you then?" "...I appreciate the offer but I cannot allow-" "THIS IS AN INVASION DAMMIT, I'm in peak condition, I can help, you said so yourself!" ".......very well. Follow me and follow my orders precisely." The two headed off to the patient wards. In essence the entire region of Katina he was in was its own hospital. He never expected what seemed essentially an army base to be so well-fitted, but then he didn't know if anyone else lived on this planet. Were there even any other cities or towns? Perhaps this was the only hospital here. Either way, he didn't want to feel useless and cower in a safety bunker. The last time that happened to him, he ended up on Zebes alone.

The hospital had rows upon rows of patients in various conditions, with a few severe cases of missing limbs This was the evidence he saw of the war with Andross. Soldiers, civilians, children with some sort of physical loss. The doctor ordered: "Mr Campbell, I want you to assist the wounded from beds thirteen to twenty. You must keep them calm and to file them towards the safety bunker, the guards outside the room will escort you. Is that clear?" "Yes doctor!" He ran to the beds he was ordered to help with, mainly adults with a few women who weren't that badly injured compared to the rest. They did however have an incomplete number of arms, eyes and ears. "Hey guys, we gotta get outta here!" "Who the hell are you!?!?" "Never mind that, we gotta get to the safety bunker, I'll help you!" After some convincing the patients got up in single file trying not to panic as they were escorted by this strange reptile to the guards who looked upon him with suspicion. "You're that refugee, whatcha doing here?" "The doc was checking me when the alert went and asked me to help, okay? Now come on, get these guys into the bunker!" Walking together with the guards keeping their guns at the ready, the party winded its way through few corridors before the base shook with explosions, making some of the patients fall over, James rushing to make sure they didn't land on their fractured limbs. "What the fuck was that!?!!?" "Ship musta crashed into the base, everyone stick together!" "Ships?!? Will there be any enemy soldiers coming into the base, sir?" "Hopefully it'll stay an aerial battle like usual, but we better stay ready. You know how to fight?" "Sure, but I never really used a gun." "Then you stay with your claws and knock down any enemies that come close okay?" One of the guards went to behind the group so both ends would be guarded, as they made their way further into the depths of the base. Soon enough they faced a large thick metal door, like the entrance to a vault. The guards input a code, then scanned their retinas before it opened surprisingly swift for such a huge door. The wounded went inside, before one of the guards went in to protect and look after them, the door closing after them. "Alright, what's yer name kid?" "James." "Right, James, we go back to the bay and escort more of the wounded out, they're gonna be bringing out the ones without legs or so." They rushed back to the medical bay. Thankfully no one had any extra injuries and the doctor rooster waited for the armed escort, a few more guards rushing to the scene for extra cover as the doctor took charge. James noticed some patients remained very bed-ridden, seemingly in no condition to be moved. "Alright, we must escort the wounded to the vault as smoothly as possible, a few of our nurses and doctors will also accompany you to aid them if they need it before we return here to treat any who need immediate attention, is that clear?" The guards nodded before those who could be moved were slowly escorted back the same way. More crashes were felt throughout the base, as James and the civilians helped keep the more wounded upright. One blast sent a few of the crippled patients down and almost broke themselves even more. Howls of anguish cut throughout the corridors, as the escorting medical staff handed out morphine to lessen the pain. James had never been in a warzone before, the reality of which was making him shake with panic. Debris was starting to collapse down on the halls, endangering everyone, the raptor keeping an eye out on any that could hurt them. Eventually they reached the safety bunker once again. The guard opened it again to let the wounded and medical staff inside as important civilians, before retreating back with only one doctor and nurse in tow, in case they met anyone injured along the way.

One crashed ship collided into the base hard, and even more debris fell down, blocking a few corridors off. What they were more concerned of though was the ship itself that had wedged itself into one. The cockpit opened up, as its pilot crawled out pathetically. "It's one of Andross' ships!" The guards aimed their rifles, ready to fire before the doctor shouted: "STOP, don't shoot!" The pilot was a monkey, a white-furred one with pink rings around his eyes, weakly clambering from the wreckage. "Doctor he's one of Andross' scum!" "But he's wounded!" The doctor ran towards the pilot, who didn't even have a weapon and did not try to fight back. The doctor slowly moved him to the floor. James was stunned by this as he asked: "Um...doc...isn't he one of the enemy?" "Yes." "So...why are you helping him?!? He's a fucking ape!" "A doctor's job is to heal, not to judge!" "What?!" "No matter who comes through our doors, whether it's a hero or a murderer, doctors have a duty to uphold life above all else. We let the courts judge for us, but only we do the healing. Now help me take him to the hospital unless you want to leave me here!" James, confused by this moral code, took hold of the simian pilot grudgingly and supported him back to the hospital, not even breathing a word to him. After a slow walk back with the guards keeping an eye out for healthier enemies, they reached the hospital, the doctor who accompanied them shouting: "Enemy combatant here!" The medical staff helped him onto a bed as they began to examine him over, the rooster head doctor leading it. "Both legs broken, but we can't escort him to the bunker, they'd kill him." "Yeah, too bad it's not everyone else's job not to judge, huh?" Mocked James as they ignored him to begin repairing his legs, the monkey murmuring in pain. "Shhh, you're safe now, let me work on your legs, can you talk?" "Ahh huh..." "Do you feel any pain other than in your legs?" "N...no...ah...my legs...." "Alright then, we have to operate on you so, nurse, anaesthetic please."

As they began to operate on him, James turned away a little in disgust, despite knowing he shouldn't judge those in such a way. He should know especially when reptiles were the most reviled species back home. Most humans tend to not like reptiles for several reasons, mainly for something about original sin. He remembered hearing a few of the prophets proclaiming their hatred about it, but never knew what it meant. Even so, he admitted to himself he wasn't fond of primates, but at least didn't hate them as much as when he was more idealistic and younger. He went up to the guards and asked: "Well...now what?" "We stay here and guard the ones who can't move as well as the staff. Why, you planning on going somewhere?" "I was wondering how it looked outside." "You ain't going outside, Starfox'll help us out with these punks." "What, four guys against this lot?" "They're the best pilots in the Lylat System boy, if they can't do it, no one can." "Seriously?" The guards nodded with such a determined hope that he wondered how truly great Starfox were. They seemed to be this invincible team, almost legendary. James decided to ask instead: "Nothing else I can do to help?" "You're a civilian, you shouldn't even be here but in the safety bunker...but since the doctor had you helping him, go ask him when he's done with the monkey." "Ugh." Time passed slowly, the shaking explosions of the base bringing everyone's nerves to the same state as the base itself, James especially for being so inexperienced to the acts of war. But not to violence. He was starting to feel the mental strain, having many an urge to run and escape the place before it collapsed. But he remained with them, not wanting to feel a useless coward, as well as having no idea where to run. Eventually the head doctor wiped his feathered brow, and moved away from the enemy pilot. "There, we've done the best for him. He'll never walk again but at least he will live." "Whoop-dee-doo," said James sarcastically, "Anything else I can do doctor?" "There's nothing we can do right now except wait for them to stop, either by our hand or theirs." And so the long wait came, the raptor sitting in a corner trying to stay calm, but always having the feeling that the entire place was going to just suddenly collapse on top of them. And yet he could only wait, the inability to do anything making him all the more tense. He needed to do something. It was only half an hour later when news of jubilation came across the airwaves. "THIS IS MISSION CONTROL, TEAM STARFOX HAVE ENTERED THE PERIMETER, I REPEAT, TEAM STARFOX HAVE ENTERED THE PERIMETER. ALL PILOTS, ASSIST THEM IN THEIR MISSION." ".....you gotta be kidding me." murmured James to himself in amazement. He wanted to see how they fought, and unable to wait any longer, he waited for the opportunity to leave the hospital when the guards were busy with another casualty.

Running to the nearest exit with thanks to some directions from those not so wounded along the way, he finally reached the outside. He slipped past the guards to watch the chaotic aerial battle, an insane sun-blocking brawl of ships. His sharp eyes noticed three kinds. The alien ships he already knew as being Andross' minions, dark brownish-green and shaped oddly. The winged green fighters of Katina. And one or two blue-winged fighters. No doubt that was Starfox's ships. Was there really only four of them? They had quite the ship on them, and he never saw anyone other than the frog, the hare, the fox and the falcon. Ducking out of sight behind a pillar, he tried to keep his eye on the blue ships, seeing them avoid the greens and take down the darker ships. Eventually, he felt the sun disappear and a loud humming sound begin to resonate from behind him. Everyone turned towards the shadow, the ships in the sky seeming to fly away from the base. "Holy...christ."

It was a humongous ship. A giant flying saucer, almost exactly like the ones he had seen in ancient movie posters back on Earth. The mother ship itself presumably. He wondered if Andross was on it, ready to conquer this one base which must be strategically important somehow. It opened four hatches, each one facing the four directions of the compass only to unleash even more enemy ships, a veritable swarm of them that blackened the sky. The ground soldiers panicked at the multitude of them. All the raptor could do was gaze at the enormous spaceship, knowing in this swarm he couldn't ever hope to keep an eye on Starfox. Keeping himself out of sight and hiding from the occasional crashed ship or laser blast at the ground, a few minutes passed before one of the ships attacked one of the hatches, which promptly blew up after a multitude of laser shots. "Di...did that thing...GO STARFOX, BLAST THAT BITCH TO HELL!" Excited by the possibility of taking down a seemingly impossible challenge, hatch after hatch was blasted, until all four were taken down into burning clouds. And then it got nasty, by opening the centre of itself to reveal a blue glowing crystal-like structure. The blue crystal hummed with great power and slowly hovered directly over the base. No doubt it was going to destroy it. It had the power of a cannon, everyone on the ground could feel it charging up to the point that it was almost deafening. The people panicked, some ran into the base while others ran out. James, in the confusion of it all, ran away from the base to stare better at the mothership, awaiting the eventful destruction of Katina. But something else came instead.

Salvation. In the form of a brave assault from Starfox at the core, blasting it to kingdom come with a violent sparkling explosion. It soon set off a chain reaction of many explosions, spiralling throughout the ship like a towering inferno, lancing deeply through its heart and mind. Soon it began to topple downwards, like an unsteady spinning top, slowly crashing to the ground out of harm's way. A colossal whooping cheer came from the base, the enemy ships dispersing from the planet into the stars the moment they realised defeat was at their door. Only the Katina fighters and Starfox now flew in the sky. One of them noticed James and circled like a friendly vulture before landing nearby. Out of it came Slippy, the short squat froggy gleaming with blinking large eyes. "Hey, there you are! I wondered what happened to you!" "Well I was just in the base when the attack came. Wow...you guys took down that bitch HARD!" "That was all Fox, he's a real hero yanno!" "Man...for a guy so young he makes a good fighter." "You bet...wish I could be that good." "Me too...um, need anything Slippy?" "Actually yeah...I kinda found out something about you that you might wanna hear, if you wanna hop back to the Great Fox for a li'l meeting?" "What about me exactly?" "Well...I think I know where you came from."